Analysts at Gartner are positive about the future of AI-enabled PCs. They forecast that 43% of all PC shipments will have AI capabilities by 2025, a significant increase from 17% in 2024.
This prediction is in line with the plans of companies like Microsoft and Apple to incorporate generative AI more frequently into their devices. While some Apple Intelligence features are still under development, the hardware required for these features is already present in their devices. Microsoft’s Copilot, on the other hand, is more readily available.
The question remains: Will AI PCs be the future of computing, or is this just a passing trend?
AI PC Shipments Predicted to Grow by 165%
Gartner’s report anticipates that AI PC shipments will reach 114 million units in 2025, a substantial increase of 165.5% from the previous year. Additionally, by 2026, AI PCs will be the primary choice for large businesses when purchasing new laptops.
According to the report, AI PCs are defined as those equipped with a neural processing unit (NPU), such as Windows on Arm, macOS on Arm, and x86 on Windows PCs. Devices like Microsoft’s Surface 7th Edition and later models have NPUs, as do laptops featuring Apple’s M3 and M4 chips.
Competition in the AI chip market remains intense, with cloud providers striving to reduce their reliance on dominant suppliers.
Senior Director Analyst at Gartner, Ranjit Atwal, stated in a press release, “As the PC market transitions from non-AI to AI PCs, x86 dominance will diminish over time, especially in the consumer AI laptop sector. Arm-based AI laptops are expected to gain more market share from Windows x86 AI and non-AI laptops. However, in 2025, Windows x86-based AI laptops are projected to lead the business segment.”
Other significant findings from the report include:
- AI laptops will represent 51% of total laptop shipments in 2025.
- NPU-enabled laptops made up just 5% of available laptops for large businesses in 2023.
Atwal added, “The discussion has shifted from speculating about which PCs will include AI features to the expectation that most PCs will eventually integrate AI NPU capabilities. Consequently, NPU will become a standard feature for PC vendors.”
Drawbacks of Generative AI’s Ubiquity in PCs
In correspondence with roosho, Atwal noted that consumers are becoming more conscious of the need to future-proof their purchases.
However, Atwal highlighted that the return on investment (ROI) of AI is still uncertain. Without compelling applications, many consumers are hesitant to pay extra for AI capabilities in their laptops in the near future.
While generative AI offers numerous advantages, such as content creation and coding, there is ongoing debate about whether the output meets professional standards. Reports have indicated that AI-generated code can be incorrect, leading to security issues and potentially reducing developers’ diligence in reviewing their work. Despite attracting significant investment, demonstrating ROI in AI projects remains challenging. Additionally, around 30% of AI projects may be abandoned after the proof-of-concept stage.
Atwal also raised concerns about the environmental impact of AI technology. Research suggests that AI could have adverse effects on the environment.
He suggested, “Although the production of new NPU technology may initially increase the environmental footprint, it could potentially offset some of the energy consumption associated with processing data in the cloud by performing local data processing on the device. This could reduce the need for energy-intensive data transmission to the cloud in specific scenarios.”
Despite these challenges, Atwal maintains a positive outlook for a future driven by advancements in AI.
He concluded, “The benefits of AI will become more evident as we transition from reactive AI practices to proactive actions facilitated by generative AI (GenAI and AI Agents).”
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